Participatory Budgeting - learning from Govanhill Equally Well test site

The role of Participatory Budgeting in promoting localism and mobilising community assets. But where next for Participatory Budgeting in Scotland?

Participatory Budgeting (PB) means involving local residents in deciding how to spend public money. At its core PB is about local people shaping local services to more effectively meet local priorities.

In this latest report from the Govanhill Equally Well test site, Chris Harkins and James Egan report on a PB pilot which was initiated in 2010 using Equally Well funds. Overall the study concludes that the PB pilot in Govanhill was a positive and valued experience for all concerned. The authors describe why the learning from the pilot is of both local importance and national relevance; setting this progressive pilot within the current UK and Scottish political landscape. The conclusions of the study support that PB has the potential to be a central mechanism in promoting localism and mobilising community assets. The report also describes how PB could have a role to play within the nation’s response to the Christie Commission.